View full sizeAaron Houston/For The Star-LedgerGov. Chris Christie speaks at a town hall meeting on Thursday. On his first day in office in 2010, Christie signed an executive order to allow waivers that will allow the state to grant exemptions on regulations covering nearly every product and service bought and sold in New Jersey.

TRENTON — In a move some say could weaken consumer protections, the state Division of Consumer Affairs is instituting a "waiver rule" that will allow it to grant exemptions on regulations covering nearly every product and service bought and sold in New Jersey.

From acupuncturists to accountants, to doctors and home contractors, the DCA licenses at least 600,000 individuals and companies that do business in New Jersey. Dozens of boards within the division oversee licensing, regulations, consumer protection and fraud enforcement.

Gov. Chris Christie allowed for the waivers in an executive order he signed on his first day in office in 2010, as part of his "common sense principles" to reduce burdensome red tape in New Jersey and to improve the state’s business climate.

The new rules would relax some existing requirements individuals and business had to adhere to.

For example, physicians renewing their licenses must now mail their applications to the state so that a postmark appears. Under a waiver, the application could be e-mailed, faxed or hand-delivered, said Sharon Joyce, an assistant state attorney general.

Other examples of waivers the department cited include allowing nail salons to operate without commercial hair dryers or permitting basement businesses to operate without having a ground-floor bathroom.

"I can’t really foresee the agencies looking to, in any way, diminish the requirements," she said. "You have to demonstrate why something is burdensome … We’re not going to excuse (a doctor) not being licensed."

Critics, however, say waivers will lead to an erosion of protections provided by the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, considered one of the most consumer-friendly laws in the country.

"You have the right as a consumer not be ripped off or harmed in New Jersey. That’s because of the state Consumer Fraud Act," said Julie Nepveu, a senior attorney with AARP. "One of the problems is, if you’re waiving regulations, are you waiving a person’s rights as a consumer? We are very concerned about that."

Critics say that under the waiver rule, for example, home contractors might ask for an exemption so they wouldn’t have to list materials they use when building a retaining wall, something now required under the Consumer Fraud Act. If the wall should collapse from unspecified and/or shoddy materials, the critics argue, a homeowner would have no legal recourse.

Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, said critics are being alarmist.

"This will have no impact on those (consumer) protections," Drewniak said, adding that the DCA has a great consumer protection track record.

The DCA says that the waivers would only be granted in situations where the existing rules are "unfair, burdensome or incongruous."

The DCA is the second state agency to adopt a waiver rule. The Department of Environmental Protection adopted its own waiver rule last month.Critics of the rules, including AARP, New Jersey Public Interest Research Group and Legal Services of New Jersey, say the DCA waiver has more far-reaching ramifications than the DEP’s.

"This one’s worse than that, in my view," Nepveu said. "As bad as that one is, this one has even fewer limits on what can be waived and why. It also gives unlimited discretion to licensing boards that are supposed to protect the health and financial security of New Jersey citizens."

Joyce, the assistant attorney general, said the DCA’s waiver rule would not establish legal precedents.

"It could be a kind of early-warning system. Maybe we have a regulatory standard that might ultimately need to be modified … it’s a way of finding out what’s not reasonable, given a changed circumstance," she said. "I don’t think because we did it in one case we’re bound to do in other cases where the circumstances might not be identical."

Neil Fogarty, a board member and past president of the Consumer League of New Jersey, said the waiver rule puts the state government on the side of business, not consumers.

"We submit that this will turn consumer protection into business protection," he said. "We think the state should help protect consumers - not help businesses fleece them."